1. Technical Field
The present invention relates a highly soluble gelling vegetable protein product, and to a process for obtaining such product.
2. Background of the Invention
Meat injection is widely used in the food industry in order to increase the juiciness and tenderness of the meat, as well as to increase the yield thereof. Typical injection brines consist of nitrite salt, dextrose, phosphate, ascorbic acid, and a protein source such as soy protein. In order to obtain the desired product quality, the brine must disperse rapidly within the muscle fibers and support or strengthen the meat protein gel formed under the processing conditions. In addition, the injected brine should also be retained within the muscle fibers.
Typical protein sources are viscous and only partly soluble. These sources often have a somewhat impaired dispersion ability due to insoluble particles and high brine viscosity. Also, the amount of protein product which can be included in a brine formulation is limited by the degree of viscosity imparted. Further, gelling is typically not complete at the relatively low temperatures typically used for meat pasteurization, and the strength of the gel is diminished in salt.
There is a need for a brine containing an improved protein source, which allows for good dispersibility, gel formation at low temperatures, good binding properties for the brine and the ability to be included at high levels in the brine formulation. Some attempts have been made to arrive at such a product based on soy protein.
Vegetable protein based meat analog products or gelling food products, for example cheese and yogurt, offer many health benefits to consumers. Consumer acceptance of these products is directly related to organoleptic qualities such as texture, flavor, mouthfeel and appearance. Protein sources for gel-based food products such as meat analogs, like those useful in pickling brines, must have good gel forming properties at relatively low cooking temperatures and good water and fat binding properties. Typically, vegetable proteins and combinations of vegetable proteins such as vital wheat gluten and soy protein isolate will form viscous mixes, prior to cooking, which are difficult to handle in pumping and forming equipment. Also, the cooked products from these protein sources are typically significantly different in chewiness or “bite” from the natural texture of processed meat products or gelled food products. There is a need for vegetable protein sources which will support improved handling properties of mixtures before cooking and improved texture of cooked products.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,663,058 discloses a process for producing a soybean protein material comprising the steps of hydrolyzing soybean protein, emulsifying an oil-and-fat ingredient with the soybean protein and drying the mixture. The product is said to have taste, color and water-dispersibility suitable for use as a pickling solution at high concentrations and in viscous liquid foods such as soup.